Dirtybird Campout 2018: Mija, Just Blaze, Phase 1 Lineup Announced

The first-ever East Coast edition of the camping-themed underground music festival has announced its initial lineup

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Nov 1, 2017 - 12:45 pm

San Francisco-based underground tech house and bass music label Dirtybird Records' yearly three-day Dirtybird Campout music festival is all set for its inaugural expansion to the East Coast in February 2018.

The new festival is aptly titled Dirtybird Campout East, and standing tall atop the first batch of performers announced are big names like Just Blaze, Mija and Soul Clap, along with label boss Claude VonStroke and Dirtybird festival mainstays such as Justin Martin, Christian Martin, J. Philip, and Justin Jay.

In keeping with its West Coast forbearer, the first East Coast edition of the festival will feature a broad range of talent encompassing techno, trap, hip-hop, deep house, tech funk, and all manner of sub genres in between.

Dirtybird Campout East will take place on Feb. 2–4 in St. Cloud, Fla. Tickets will go on sale on Nov. 4.

One of the premiere events at South By Southwest has announced its official lineup for 2018

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Mar 6, 2018 - 12:22 pm

South By Southwest is so close we can taste it, and that means it's time for the event lineups to start rolling in. Who will make a splash this year? Which acts will take that crucial step from hanging on the verge of fame and walk out into the spotlight?

Long known as one of the premiere events to see new acts break at SXSW, FADER magazine's three-day "Fader Fort" concert series has now revealed its 2018 lineup. It's packed with some names we've had our eyes and ears tuned towards lately, namely Soccer Mommy, SOB x RBE, Mozzy, Now Now, YBN Nahmir, and BbyMutha, with more acts still to be announced.

Soccer Mommy is the band project of 20 year-old Nashville songwriter Sophie Allison – a tight-knit four-piece whose sound belies their young age. Allison began playing music at the age of six, but largely kept her songwriting and recording a secret from her local friend group, choosing instead to release her songs online without publicizing them. As she got older, however, the recordings on her Bandcamp page caught an organic buzz that led to bookings for live gigs, eventually landing Allison a record deal the summer after she graduated from high school.

SOB x RBE meanwhile, have been riding a rocket all through the first quarter of 2018, thanks largely to their fantastic contribution to the No. 1 charting Kendrick Lamar-curated and produced Black Panther: The Album. Their track "Paramedic!" has managed to become one of the standout tracks on a soundtrack album packed wall-to-wall with hits. As a follow-up to their success as part of Black Panther: The Album, SOB x RBE were next tapped to join the lineup for Post Malone's huge 45-date summer world tour alongside 21 Savage, which kicks off next month on with a two-weekend stint at Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival. Tickets for the tour are still available; purchase links and additional show date details can be found on Post Malone's website.

Playing the Fader Fort at SXSW has proven to be a crucial step in the careers of some of today's biggest acts. Over the past 16 years has played host to the breakthrough moments for acts such as Odd Future (introducing the world to Tyler, The Creator, EarlSweatshirt, and Frank Ocean, et al.), Kid Cudi and Amy Winehouse, meaning that its annual presence at SXSW is always a hotspot of activity for brand ambassadors, artist managers and industry reps of all kinds who are in Austin looking for the Next Big Thing. The first 15 years of the Fader Fort will soon be documented in a new book called FADER FORT: Setting The Stage, which FADER will premiere at this year's event.

Photo: Roger Kisby/Getty Images

For its 17th annual installment, the Fader Fort has once again changed venues, moving up the street to 1501 East 7th St. in Austin, a joint indoor-outdoor space just three blocks from last year's venue.

"We wanted a little more space to be able to accommodate more fans at [the] Fort," explained FADER president and publisher Andy Cohn about the decision to change venues for the third time in three years. "We also wanted to enhance the experiences for artists with a larger stage, but still maintain the special, intimate experience with great sound quality that Fort is known to provide."

The official lineup for Ultra's RESISTANCE stages – the Carl Cox Megastructure and Arcadia The Spider – has been announced

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Feb 1, 2018 - 1:55 pm

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the massive three-day ULTRA Music Festival. Held in Miami annually during Miami Music Week since 1999, the festival has grown into one of the world's premiere electronic dance events.

Inside Miami Music Week with top DJs

The phase one lineup for ULTRA 2018 has already been announced, and just this week the festival promoters have followed-up with the official lineup for their house and techno stages, branded jointly this year as RESISTANCE.

With an exciting stable of some of the biggest names in underground dance music, the RESISTANCE stages – the Carl Cox Megastructure and Arcadia The Spider – will be helmed by legendary DJ Carl Cox and dark techno visionary and Drumcode label boss Adam Beyer. Along for the ride with Cox and Beyer, house heads at the Carl Cox Megastructure will be treated to a special joint b2b2b set featuring Dubfire, Nicole Moudaber and Paco Osuna, as well as the minimal techno stylings of Pan-Pot, the bouncy crossover U.K. vibes of Jamie Jones, and the special brand of ethereal melodic ambience always brought to the table by Maceo Plex.

Dancers at the Arcadia The Spider stage – a fan favorite spider-shaped staging structure from previous years that is making a welcome comeback in 2018 – will be treated to a series of supergroup sets, courtesy of J.E.S.u.S. (Jackmaster, Eats Everything, Skream, and Seth Troxler) and Better Lost Than Stupid (Davide Squillace, Matthias Tanzman, and Martin Buttrich). The stage will also play host to the live synthesizer wizardry of Stephan Bodzin, the patented tech-house of Patrick Topping, Technasia, Matador, and Hot Since 82, as well as the inimitable track selection prowess of Pete Tong, Nic Fanciulli, and Friday night headliners Sasha & John Digweed.

ULTRA Music Festival will take place in Miami on Mar. 23-25. General admission tickets are still available, but will likely sell out before the forthcoming release of the festival's phase two lineup.

The first batch of top tier DJs, live headliners, and supporting acts for the 20th installment of ULTRA Music Festival have been announced

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Dec 19, 2017 - 1:29 pm

The first phase of headliners and supporting acts for the 20th-anniversary installment of the massive three-day electronic dance festival ULTRA has officially been announced.

Inside Miami Music Week with top DJs

Many of the biggest names in dance music, including previous ULTRA headliners, are featured heavily in the phase one announcement, which touches all major dance/electronic genres fairly evenly. Names like Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, Eric Prydz, RL Grime, Empire Of The Sun, theCrystal Method, Infected Mushroom, and Marshmello are certainly no surprises for any dance festival lineup these days.

But there are a few unexpected bookings as well, with controversial rap/hip-house artist Azealia Banks joining the live headliners group alongside the somewhat surprising inclusion of the Wailers and Julian Marley. (How might a classic reggae act play off against a surrounding sea of thumping bass music?) There's also Porter Robinson's mysterious new hard house/trancestyle project VIRTUAL SELF.

The 4-day cruise is currently sold out, but wait list spots remain available

Brian Haack

GRAMMYs

Nov 30, 2017 - 12:56 pm

The third voyage of Parahoy!, the rock festival cruise spearheaded by Paramore, is ready to set sail in April 2018. This week, members of Paramore announced which artists will be tasked with keeping partygoers rockin' all through the four-day Caribbean excursion.

Setting sail from Miami and meandering down toward Nassau, in the Bahamas, the festival's list of performers will include Local Natives, Judah & The Lion, mewithoutyou, Now Now, Halfnoise, and Mija. Paramore themselves will also play a pair of headlining sets.

Comedians Jordan Rock and Ryan O'Flanagan will put in appearances in between sets of live music, and Paramore promise the cruise will also include a special Q&A with the band, some "Paraoke" sing-alongs, and other fun activities hosted by each band member.

Billed as "2,600 Paramore fans, dozens of wild activities, 1,000s of high-fives, and ALL the FEELS," the festival is sure to have something to entertain fans of all ages — though all minors and young adults under 21 are required to travel with an accompanying adult.

Parahoy! 2018 is currently sold out, but interested cruisers can still sign up for the official waiting list to be notified if additional berths become available. More information can be found on the festival's website.

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